March 20 (UPI) — Sen. Thom Tillis on Wednesday said he has received death threats over a bill that would force TikTok to end its Chinese ownership, releasing audio of the person threatening to shoot him if it passes.
The bill, House Resolution 7521, passed the House 352-65 last week and has been sent to the Senate where it remains unclear if or when it will be brought to the floor for a vote.
If enacted, though, the bill would force parent company ByteDance to sell off TikTok or have its platform banned in the United States over national security concerns. The bill specifically prohibits the distribution, maintenance or updating of “foreign adversary-controlled applications.”
Tillis, a Republican for North Carolina, accused TikTok of spearheading a “misinformation campaign” to encourage members of Congress, and released a 27-second clip of a death threat that he said his office received Tuesday night.
“Okay, listen. If you ban TikTok, I will find you and shoot you,” the caller said before laughing. “That’s people’s job and that’s my only entertainment. And, people make money off there, too, you know.”
“I’m trying to get rich like that. Anyways I’ll shoot you and find you and cut you into pieces,” the person said before laughing again. “Bye.”
Threatening to kill a member of Congress is a federal offense — a fact that Tillis highlighted in releasing the audio.
“Callers like this who communicate threats against elected officials could be committing a federal crime,” he said on X. “The Communist-Chinese-aligned company is proving just how dangerous their current ownership is.”
“Great work, TikTok.”
This is a voicemail my office received last night. TikTok’s misinformation campaign is pushing people to call their members of Congress, and callers like this who communicate threats against elected officials could be committing a federal crime. The Communist-Chinese aligned… pic.twitter.com/X9uW03neqw— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) March 20, 2024
In response to the bill, TikTok has been using its platform to encourage users to contact their local representatives, according to a copy of the message distributed online by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
UPI has asked TikTok for comment.
TikTok has for years been a target of Republican suspicion over its potential national security risks due to it being owned by a Chinese company — a suspicion that has grown more and more bipartisan.
According to Congress’s website, H.R. 7521 has been received in the senate and has been referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has been noncommittal about when the bill will see the Senate floor.
“I’m talking to members of my caucus to decide the best path forward,” he told reporters during a press conference Wednesday when asked about the bill.
